You Must Create Your Own Security

The life of an artist has no guarantees. Right? Sure it’s risky. Just like entrepreneurship, you’ve got ideas and you put them out into the world and there’s no guarantee of how it will be received. Most artists also get told by someone at some point they probably will never make much money. Which kind of sucks out some of the motivation, no? Sure you can make stuff but you’ll never get very far with it- not exactly an exciting proposal for a career.

What I’ve learned, and what I see other creative people missing, is that you must create your own security. And you must act AS IF you have a guarantee it will work out, that you will make money. Because otherwise you will spend all your time in doubt, in fear, focused on insecurity rather than taking control as much as you can to make sure you’re where you want to be. (Financially, and otherwise.)

I unfortunately witness so many talented people who have removed themselves from truly committing to their passions, their beautiful skills, because they don’t feel a sense of security and therefore hold back on going all in powerfully. It takes money to make money. But it also takes a sense of knowing, an inner motivation and a set of beliefs that say “You’re going to be more than fine, go after it!”

If you’re honest with yourself, have you stepped up to follow your dream and pursue it with every ounce of inspired effort you can muster? Or have you done just a bit, tried a few things for a while then gave up or decided it wasn’t working? Are you letting fear of an insecure life keep you stuck in insecurity? Have you really used your best strategies and gotten support to get seen, get known, and get the career you want?

You cannot just create and expect someone to find you, change your life and decide you’re worth the money, worth the effort, worth the security that comes from consistently getting visible! You must decide for yourself. And you must put the effort in fearlessly before others will back you. You must trust you have the power to make it happen. You must overcome the negative stories your mind tells you, that other people have told you, to set yourself free and create the life and business you desperately desire.

If your future in a creative field doesn’t seem secure, it’s because you’ve decided it’s not.

You can figure it out, you can expand your income streams, you can make it easy to show up and get visible every day, you can let more people know about your work, you can reach out and find great support, great fans, great collaborators. You’re not the only one going through this, and you’re not the only one who was told it’s risky. But if you’ve decided YOU are worthwhile, then let yourself curate your experiences, curate your business, curate your life into the one you want. 

What if it was guaranteed? What if success was a sure thing? If you knew you could have everything you want, but you had to show up and create and do business whole heartedly. How would you go about things differently? How would you feel about your work? How would that change your life?

Why you need to be 100% dedicated and completely flexible in your business!

After 6+ years of being a business owner one thing I know for sure is to be successful you need to be completely dedicated to your vision, your goals, your mission- and also totally flexible in how you execute and how you receive what you want. Tricky, no?

For the last 2 (and a bit) years I've been dedicated to coaching and speaking to artists and helping them set up businesses and feel confident running them. I built free communities online and offline for artists, I held events, I spoke at art schools and art organizations. I was 100% dedicated to artists. I literally turned down people that came to me and said "Can I work with you?" if they weren't specifically artists, and preferably visual artists.

But my mission is bigger than serving just artists, because it's become clear to me that limiting myself to only that audience, limits the impact I can have, and limits the amount of people who can work with me to receive EXACTLY what it is they really need. And that's the thing, we start businesses and we can get stuck too much on us, rather than what our (potential) clients and customers need. So after deciding to open up my coaching services to other kinds of entrepreneurs, I'm still 100% dedicated to helping thoughtful, creative people achieve their ideal life by doing what they love.(You can check out my revamped offers of support here.) And I'm practicing being flexible around how it happens moving forward! 

If you look at your own business, can you see some ways you may be blocking yourself from doing what you want or limiting the kind of impact you can have? Maybe dedication is looking more like stubbornness. (Aries here so I know about that!) Going into this new year how can you expand your vision of your business to allow more in- whether it's more clients, more sales, more money, more fun- what can you become more flexible with to see the changes happen? 

And if you're not feeling 100% dedicated to what you do, examine the root of that feeling. Is it coming from fear of it not working out? Are you doing more "shoulds" than you need to and working for someone else's dream? What would you need to feel completely dedicated to your work? Maybe it's a sense of security, maybe it's more support. Let yourself create and curate what it is you truly need in your life. 

Contracting to Expand

Before a woman gives birth she has contractions. Before she can be how she needs to be to give birth there is pain. And then there is expansion and the baby is born. And there is light and love and the pain is no longer the focus.

And when we're going through a period of contraction in our life, it can seem painful and prolonged and like it came out of nowhere. But what I'm coming to learn is that it means you are actually preparing to birth something new, to change on a physical, spiritual, mental, emotional level. But it's tough when you don't know what is on the other side of this pain, of this temporary darkness, of this internal struggle. 

Right now I'm in a period of contraction. I'm going inward, and it's not a comfortable feeling. I want to continue on my way, the way I had been- but there is a strong pull saying NO. No to pushing hard, it's not that time, no to putting yourself too far out there, no to overworking, no to stress, no to busy, no to everything I've been holding onto so tightly that I've stunted my own growth. 

What can we do while we go through this tunnel? If I could fly to Bali and relax by the beach, meditate, read for days and not deal with anything I would. (And drink out of coconuts, I love that.) But most of us still have responsibilities and things we can't just put on hold. 

So try this: Remove the excess in your life and allow space for this experience. Take a break from social media, say no to dealing with people who drain you, do only the necessary work, listen to your body and allow yourself the time to just BE. That might mean crying, that might be watching movie after movie, that might mean taking a walk every day when you normally run. Just give yourself the space to choose in the moment what feels best. 

All you need to do is be you. Focus on finding joy. Focus on what brings you to life. Find the fun. Release the guilt of not doing more right now. Be okay with feeling like a hot mess crazy person for a bit. And keep looking forward to that moment when you see the opening, the expansion, the light at the end of the tunnel zooming towards you, and get excited for your next chapter. 

Are Distractions Taking Over Your Life?

Focus, focus...Ok why am I lying on the ground again?!

Right now I am writing this blog even though I decided I was going to do yoga and meditate. Why? Because 1. I haven't written a post in months (better start again RIGHT NOW!) and 2. Distractions are easier to focus on than the stuff we have to do and even the stuff we actually say are our priorities. It's not necessarily more fun/fulfilling but it is EASIER, most likely because it's right in front of us (hello phone!) or it's been brought to us by someone else, therefore we don't really need to do anything or take action. (For instance my laptop was next to me and my yoga mat is at least 4 ft. away, hence why I'm here not there.) 

If you made a list of the top 5 things in your life you'd like to focus on and do every day or every week, it would look really simple. Nice and easy, just 5 things that are truly important and meaningful to you. Ahhh, what a beautiful life that would be!

Then cue the distractions. Unfortunately, we are so bombarded these days with not only the stuff we have to do, but all the stuff everyone else is doing. And we just want to eat up all those Instagram posts and click all the article links on Facebook! Honestly, if you think about how much of your day is spent on distractions or things that aren't on your Top 5 Important Stuff list, or even necessary to you getting through and having a good day, it's nuts! At least it is for me, but I'm going to hope you're in the same boat so I don't feel bad about it. 

And the thing is- I get a lot done. Like every day I cross lots of stuff off my to-do list. I can tell you 20 things I accomplished this week. But if I really thought about it I can list way more that I did/listened it/watched/engaged with/stressed over/handled that weren't a priority, or even my responsibility. (I literally just checked my Facebook notification on my computer then looked at my phone and opened Facebook AH!). So distractions are everywhere.  

The other thing about distractions is they keep us away from our emotions. Have you ever gotten so caught up in being busy and just DOING things to avoid really being in touch with and identifying your emotions? It's common and again, easy to do. If you're feeling out of sorts, or just haven't taken time to have a quiet moment to check in with yourself, take it now. What are you ignoring while you're busy playing with the distractions in your life? Are they taking something away from you, like feeling freedom and joy? Maybe you're due for a good cry, let yourself have that, be completely indulgent in taking time to be with yourself. Feel all the feelings. 

So how do you combat distractions from taking over your life? I don't have the answer to this one but I'm really curious how my days and weeks would not just look but FEEL if I consistently denied engaging with distractions. Now I just have to stop writing this blog and get back to what I planned on doing today so I can try that out! 

Tell me how you keep focused on the important stuff and avoid distractions overrunning your life!